Change is needed. It is a public secret that our pilots do not have the required flight hours to the standards set by NATO. There are at least three reasons. First – we don't have enough planes and helicopters. Second – we don't have enough money to keep them running and for fuel. Third – we maintain far more airmen than are necessary to use the limited equipment.
This is how the former Minister of Defense Velizar Shalamanov commented in the studio of “Wake Up” on "New TV" the tragic incident.
Two military pilots died in the accident. He expressed his condolences to the relatives of the fallen airmen near the "Graf Ignatievo" airbase.
„With this very difficult state of the Bulgarian aviation, especially the combat, we have to ask ourselves whether demonstrations and airshows are the best way to use the limited resources, when in months we expect the F-16 to arrive and we will quickly release the old a technique that is used with increased risk”, added Shalamanov. According to him, taking unreasonable risks in the sky is not right.